Obama Administration Denies Jerusalem Is Located in Israel

AARON KLEIN30 Sep 2016

The White House press office on Friday struck out “Israel” as the country in which Jerusalem is located when distributing a transcript of President Obama’s remarks at the funeral of former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres.

The administration initially sent out a copy of President Barack Obama’s remarks at former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres’ funeral in Jerusalem, indicating that the remarks had been given in Jerusalem, Israel. But later Friday afternoon, the press office sent out a correction to the previous email, striking out “Israel” from the header of the transcript.

Obama delivered the eulogy at Israeli national cemetery Mount Herzl.

Official U.S. policy refrains from recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital until the conclusion of final-status talks aimed at creating a Palestinian state, ostensibly incorporating eastern sections of Jerusalem. The State Department forbids Americans born in Jerusalem to list their capital as Israel, a practice reaffirmed by a 2015 Supreme Court decision.

McClatchy adds:

The U.S. embassy in Israel is in Tel Aviv, but the country maintains a consulate in Jerusalem. Congress passed a law in 1995 calling for the embassy to be moved to Jerusalem, but presidents since then have used their waiver authority to prevent the change.